Page:To the Court of the Emperor of China - vol I.djvu/25

xxvi liquor, that they drink like milk, is the Cytisus Cajan of Linnæus, known in several places by the name of Pois Pigeon, and erroneously confounded by Bomare with the Angola pea, which resembles it neither in form, taste nor, colour. (Fr. Ed.)

Beggars are not common in China. Some are seen at Canton.

During the journey of the Embassy, the author met with none, except in the west part of the province of Chang-tong, and in that of Tcheli. They are very unfrequent in the other parts of the empire. (Fr. Ed.)

The following account is given of these bird's-nests in the the Histoire Générale de la Chine, par Mailla, vol. 13, of quarto edition, page 650.

"They come from the rocks upon the coast of Tong-king, Java, Cochinchina, &c. and are the nests built by a species of bird, of which the plumage much resembles that of our swallows. Their manner of building them is also nearly the same, except that the nests of the former are made of little fish, which they contrive to glue together with the spume of the sea. They are detached from the rocks as soon as the young one's take their flight; for it is the nest, and not the bird, that is of value. Whole boats are filled with this commodity, which becomes a considerable branch of commerce in the above countries. The property of this singular sort of aliment is to give a savoury taste to every dish of which it makes a part."

The Chinese are also of opinion that these bird's-nests are a stimulant to love, and in this persuasion, some of them have been known to give as much as an hundred Louis d'ors for twenty-five pounds weight of bird's-nests.

The Author himself sold some at Canton as high as six Louis d'ors the Cati, or twenty ounces French. (Poids de marc.)